Florida Keys Encyclopedia of the Sanctuary: Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1990 and encompasses 2,900 square nautical miles surrounding the Florida Keys archipelago. The region is known world wide for its extensive offshore coral reefs; however, this subtropical region also sustains many other inter-dependent habitats including fringing mangroves, seagrass meadows, hard-bottom regions, patch reefs, and bank reefs. Guide covers the mammals, fish, birds, invertebrates, plants and reptiles found in the sanctuary.

Census of Marine Life :The Census of Marine Life is a global network of researchers in more than 80 nations engaged in a 10-year scientific initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans. The world’s first comprehensive census of the past, present, and future of life in the oceans is being released in 2010. Explore now

ReefBase: ReefBase gathers available knowledge about coral reefs into one information repository. It is intended to facilitate analyses and monitoring of coral reef health and the quality of life of reef-dependent people, and to support informed decisions about coral reef use and management. ReefBase is the official database of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), as well as the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN).

Reefs at Risk Revisited (World Resources Institute, Feb. 2011): This report provides a detailed assessment of the status of and threats to the world’s coral reefs. It evaluates threats to coral reefs from a wide range of human activities, and includes an assessment of climate-related threats to reefs. It also contains a global assessment of the vulnerability of nations and territories to coral reef degradation.

NOAA Ocean Data Education Project: The NOAA Ocean Data Education (NODE) Project is developing curriculum for grades 5-8 designed to help teachers and students use real scientific data to explore dynamic Earth processes and understand the impact of environmental events on a regional or global scale.

Coral Spawning Globe (pdf, 144 KB): Create a model of the mass coral spawning that occurs annually, seven to ten nights after the full moon in August and/or September.

Game of Life(pdf, 128K): What does overfishing mean? What are the effects of overfishing on fish stocks? This grade 6-8, standards-based lesson plan tackles these difficult questions.

Empty Ocean(pdf, 132K): How does the human population affect the population of marine species? What can citizens do to sustain seafood populations? Have your students learn more by conducting this grades 6-8, standards-based lesson plan.

Marine Debris Lesson Plan: Students will perform experiments to examine if debris will float, or blow in the wind. The effects of these characteristics on the marine debris are then discussed.

EPA Marine Debris Prevention Toolkit: With just a few clicks, you can find a variety of outreach materials, including video and audio public service announcements, print materials, educational tools, and promotional items that were developed by local governments, state agencies, and nonprofits.

NOAA Marine Debris Program: Free, downloadable education and outreach materials for people of all ages to learn about marine debris. Everyone has a role to play in raising awareness about the problem, including educators, parents, friends, youth leaders, non-profits, corporations, and industry.

Turning the Tide on Trash: A Learning Guide on Marine Debris: NOAA’s set of lesson plans and background information introduces educators, students and researchers to the topic of marine debris. The interdisciplinary education guide is designed to provide maximum flexibility in the classroom: it can be used as a stand-alone teaching tool or to supplement work in other subject area

NOAA Nation Marine Sanctuaries – For Teachers – Teaching Materials: The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries aims to provide teachers with resources and training to support ocean literacy in America’s classrooms. You will find curriculum, lesson plans, and activities that will excite your students about science and technology.

Fish Watch: Easy-to-understand facts about the science and management behind U.S. seafood and tips on how to make educated seafood choices.

Sounds of the Reef:An Ecological Acoustic Recorder (EAR) can record a wide variety of sounds, including whales, dolphins, snapping shrimps, and fishes. Commonly identified fish sounds are produced by the Hawaiian damsel Dascyllus albisella (purr sound), soldierfish Myripristis spp. (drum sound), and butterfly fish Chaetodon spp. This page presents some of the sounds recorded by EARs.

Kids Oceanography Activitiesallows for kids to learn more about our oceans in a fun and interactive way. Learn about the ocean and the organisms that live in it with free printouts and activities.